He’s Wildly Funny and Dying of Cancer — and He Made a Documentary About It (Exclusive)
- - He’s Wildly Funny and Dying of Cancer — and He Made a Documentary About It (Exclusive)
Cara Lynn ShultzJanuary 14, 2026 at 8:00 AM
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André Ricciardi calls himself a “f---ing idiot” for not getting a colonoscopy when he turned 50
He was eventually diagnosed with terminal colon cancer and decided to share his journey in the documentary André Is an Idiot
“This film embraces the messiness of being alive and chooses laughter over fear,” director Tony Benna tells PEOPLE exclusively
His friends and family praise him as unique, funny, and talented, but according to André Ricciardi, he’s a “f---ing idiot.”
That's because he didn’t get a colonoscopy when he turned 50, the advertising creative explains in PEOPLE's exclusive trailer for the documentary André Is an Idiot. The lapse led to his diagnosis of terminal colon cancer: “I felt like I was getting into the best shape of my life," he says. "I lost 30 pounds and about once a week, I would bleed out of my ass. Turns out I had cancer."
Armed with dark humor — and a camera crew — Ricciardi faces cancer and comes to terms with death in the film, which serves as his legacy; he died from the disease in 2023.
Director Tony Benna tells PEOPLE exclusively, “I knew from the start that André Is an Idiot was not going to be about cancer. It was going to be about André. He is the kind of person you feel lucky to meet and even luckier to call a friend. André has an ability to push you to be unapologetically yourself and to find humor in everything, especially when things get hard.”
Along with musing about donating his body to television and having a head transplant, Ricciardi plans his last words (“I’m going to get you, God”), and positions himself as a photo opp (“Come on, kids. You want to take your picture with anal cancer?”).
He also jokes about the perks of treatment: “As I lose weight with the chemo, I'll look better and better,” he says in the trailer for the film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary, as well as the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award for U.S. Documentary.
André Ricciardi shares his terminal cancer journey in the documentary "André Is an Idiot."
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But as Ricciardi's treatment progresses, his loved ones face the sobering reality of losing the powerful force in their lives. “I've had all this anticipatory grief and now it's really happening,” his wife, Janice, shares. It's a grief André is all too aware of, as he explains, “I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid for the people that I'm leaving behind.”
Benna tells PEOPLE, “In true André form, this film embraces the messiness of being alive and chooses laughter over fear. There are moments that sting, but I hope audiences remember André the way we do: as a lovable, brilliant man who leaned on his wit and humor when he, and everyone around him, needed it most.”
André Is an Idiot will open in theaters beginning March 6 at Film Forum in New York City.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
